The Smartsheet user model is the way Smartsheet has counted and billed users since 2024. Smartsheet’s announcement dated 2024-06-24 described three elements: simplified user types, “Provisional Licensing” on a “try before you buy” basis, and reconciliation periods with true-up.[6] The Help Center describes it as a framework “to allow immediate user access with billing management and oversight”. Instead of waiting for a System Admin, a user can start working as soon as someone on the plan shares an item with them.[2] The subscription model “is connected to the plan, not the user”, so a person who works in several plans may have different features in each.[11]
Editions
The user model applies to Pro, Business and Enterprise plans. Guests exist only on Business and Enterprise. “The Guest seat type isn’t available on Pro plans”, and on Pro, external users follow Member or Contributor rules.[1] The 2024 brief states that customers “are unable to opt out of any aspect” of the model.[7]
Metrics
| Seat type | Definition (Seat types article) | Paid | Catalog row |
|---|---|---|---|
| Member | “paid users with full access to Smartsheet”; can create, edit and delete sheets, reports, dashboards and workspaces, share and build automations | Yes | Member |
| Provisional Member | “the same full access as a Member, but at no cost and until the end of the current billing cycle” | No, during the provisional period | Provisional Member |
| Contributor | “free users who can view content shared with them”; with Commenter permission, can comment and add or delete attachments | No | Contributor |
| Guest | “free external users, people whose email domain doesn’t match your organization’s domain” | No | Guest |
Source: Seat types article.[1] Internal and external status depends on whether the user’s email domain matches the organization’s registered domains.[1] Admin roles sit on top of seat types. The Plan Asset Admin and Group Admin roles require a Member seat, while the System Admin role “has no seat type requirement”.[1]
Counting / floors
How provisional membership is triggered
A user usually becomes a Provisional Member after two things happen. First, they gain access when someone shares a core item, such as a sheet or dashboard, with them. Second, they take an action that their sharing permission allows but their current seat type does not. “The key factor is the combination of the sharing permission level granted and the action taken.”[2] For internal users, going beyond viewing, commenting or attaching on a core item is enough: adding or editing items, changing columns, filters or permissions, or creating or renaming a sheet. “Guests can’t trigger provisional membership by editing or commenting alone”. Only creation actions, such as a new sheet created by a Guest shared as Admin, count for them.[2] Catalog proof: Provisional membership is triggered by permission plus action.
Length of the provisional period
The documents describe the free period in different ways. The provisional membership article says Provisional Members “receive at least 30 days of unpaid use (unless a System Admin changes their seat type)”.[2] The Seat types article says free use lasts “until the end of the current billing cycle”.[1] The 2025 product update refers to a “90-day period”.[8] As commentary: the two Help Center statements are consistent if a user who becomes provisional shortly before a review period is carried to the following cycle. The plan’s actual review dates in the Admin Center are the operative reference.
Review periods and the true-up
“Review periods occur quarterly for annual plans and monthly for monthly plans, right before the auto-bill or invoice date.”[2] The 2024 brief describes the true-up as “pairs of usage and reconciliation periods”. It places the reconciliation period about 30 to 35 days before the quarterly auto-bill date for annual customers and seven days before the auto-bill date for monthly customers. An email with key dates and the list of Provisional Members starts each period.[7] System Admins work from the Seat types and true-up page in the Admin Center. It shows how many Member seats the plan has, how many are assigned, and how many Provisional Members will be downgraded at the end of the review period. Seat type changes take effect immediately.[4] Bulk changes cover up to 200 users per page.[4] Catalog proof: Review periods are quarterly on annual plans and monthly on monthly plans; program reconciliation period and true-up.
What happens at the end of the cycle
The outcome depends on the Provisional Member setting.[3]
| Setting | Outcome for unreviewed Provisional Members | Billing effect |
|---|---|---|
| Downgrade (default) | Downgraded to a free seat type (Contributor or Guest) and lose features that need a higher seat | None |
| Upgrade to paid Member | Converted to paid Members, using available Member seats first | “If no Member seats are available, the cost of additional Member seats is part of your auto-bill or invoice.” |
Sources: Provisional Member Settings[3] and Seat types.[1] The 2025 product update describes the alternative ordering: “take no action and have them automatically converted to paid Members”. This reflects the setting in force on a given plan, not a universal default.[8] Catalog proof: Unreviewed Provisional Members are downgraded by default at cycle end.
The contractual basis for billing these seats is User Agreement s.9.1. Online Service fees “may also accrue based on provision of Users”, invoiced according to the Order and Documentation.[9] Under s.10.1, the units “purchased, provisioned, or otherwise used during the Term” renew automatically.[9] Catalog proof: Fees may accrue from provisioned Users and measured use; Renewal carries forward all units purchased, provisioned or used.
One provisional period per user
“A user can be a Provisional Member only once.” After a downgrade, a System Admin must upgrade the user to a Member if they need access again.[2] A downgraded user keeps their group memberships and item permissions, but cannot use them beyond their seat type. For example, a user can hold Editor permission while having only Contributor capabilities.[4] Catalog proof: A user can be a Provisional Member only once.
Guest reversion
“Guests automatically revert to a Contributor seat type within 90 days if they don’t have Editor permissions or above for any shared core Smartsheet item.”[2] Catalog proof: Guests without edit permissions revert to Contributor within 90 days.
Seat requests
Internal users who need a Member seat can request one from a banner on a sheet or other item. Banners appear when an internal user’s provisional seat has been, or is about to be, downgraded to Contributor. By default, requests are managed in the Admin Center. Alternatively, a custom URL can route them to the customer’s own process.[10]
Migration from the legacy model
Under the legacy collaborator model, a licensed user was “a paid user (internal or external) with full access to create, edit, and manage Smartsheet items”. Unlicensed users collaborated free of charge according to their sharing permissions but could not create items.[1] The user model applied to new plans immediately from 2024-06-24. Existing plans moved at their first renewal in 2025, and multi-year plans at their next renewal.[6] The Help Center puts it more precisely: “Annual plans transition at their next renewal after January 1, 2025”, and monthly plans began transitioning on 2025-02-01. On migration, “Licensed users automatically become Members”, and provisional tracking begins immediately.[5] Catalog proof: Legacy plans migrated to the user model in 2025; programs user model, legacy collaborator model.
On 2025-06-25 Smartsheet announced the Customer Loyalty Benefit for customers “experiencing large increases in total members as they transition”. It is calculated from the customer’s annual user subscription fees and its number of active free collaborators under the legacy plan, and it is applied to future renewals. “To qualify for the loyalty benefit on subsequent renewals, a customer must maintain or increase subscription service spend year over year”.[8] Catalog proof: Customer Loyalty Benefit requires flat or growing spend.
Practice notes
These are commentary based on the documents above. The plan’s Provisional Member setting determines whether inaction costs money. With the default downgrade setting, an unattended true-up removes access from active collaborators. With the upgrade setting, it adds paid Members that then renew under s.10.1 of the User Agreement.[3][9] Smartsheet’s own recommendations are to share with “the lowest level of access needed”, monitor activity in Admin Center reports, and review seat types consistently during each period.[2] The seat type report, downloadable at any time, lists each user’s email and domain, seat type, admin access, permissions and activity.[7]
Virtualization & partitioning
Not applicable. Seat types count individuals by login and email domain.[1]
Cloud / BYOL
Not applicable. The model applies to Smartsheet’s hosted plans.
Out of scope
- Plan prices and add-ons, covered in Smartsheet plans and premium add-ons.
- Contract terms and the Limits Policy assessment process, covered in Smartsheet User Agreement and Limits Policy.
- Role types for specific premium applications (for example Resource Viewers and Connector users), which layer on top of seat types.[1]